


We Can Do Anything Now

by PattRose



Series: Anything Series [1]
Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Angst and Humor, Challenge: Sentinel Thursday, First Kiss, M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-05-30 03:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6406591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PattRose/pseuds/PattRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim wins the lottery, decides what he wants to do with his money and also admits his feelings to Blair.</p><p>The second part will be done tomorrow.  4/23</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Can Do Anything Now

We Can Do Anything Now  
By PattRose  
Summary: Jim wins the lottery, decides what he wants to do with his money and also admits his feelings to Blair.  
Warnings: Language, mild slash  
Genre: Pre-slash/Slash  
Rating: Teen  
Word Count: 4939  
A/N: Thank you to Bluewolf for the beta. I went and looked up the lottery for Washington State and it’s been around since 1982. I was surprised at that. But at least I know the lottery could be won by Jim or Blair.

[ ](http://s71.photobucket.com/user/PattRose1/media/Wecandoanything_zpsmoa5ynxj.jpg.html)

** We Can Do Anything Now **

Jim _was_ hiding something from Blair. Blair was his best friend, roommate and co-worker but Jim didn’t have to tell him everything, right? It was okay to have secrets since they weren’t sleeping together. Okay, that was a second secret that Jim had. He was a gambler and in love with Blair. And by gambler, Jim meant that he bought a lottery ticket every Wednesday night. He made a point to go to the store for something every week. It wasn’t like he spent a fortune. Jim spent $5.00 every week. That was only $20.00 a month. But Jim knew that Blair would probably have a cow about it. Jim found it funny that he was worried about the gambling more so that the being in love with his partner. Jim knew that he couldn’t tell Blair. Blair was seeing someone and they seemed to be getting serious, so Jim just kept his mouth closed about how he felt.

None of this would have made any difference until he woke up on Thursday morning, watched the morning news, writing down the lottery numbers, not thinking a thing about it. Then he checked his ticket, because it was safe, Blair had already left for work. Jim was off for the day, Blair still had to work. Anyhow, Jim sat drinking his coffee, checking the numbers and thought he made a mistake somehow because one line said he had all of them. Jim rechecked the numbers he had written down and sure enough there was one line that had every single number on it. Jim didn’t know what to do. He decided that freaking out would be the first thing he needed to do. He started pacing and tried to figure out how he could tell Blair that he was gambling every month when Blair was so against gambling. I mean, Blair liked a friendly game of poker, or once or twice at the racetrack, but Blair would no doubt think that playing the lottery was taking a chance at beating the odds. Yes, Jim knew that Blair wouldn’t be happy about this. 

Jim went and got his laptop computer and went on line to double check the winning numbers. He was certain he had made a mistake somewhere. But when he double checked, he saw nothing but the line that was perfect. Jim was a millionaire. _Oh fuck, what in the hell do I do with this information?_ Jim closed his laptop, deciding he needed to take a shower then go down to the main lottery office and see what he needed to do about this. _How can I be so fucking happy and so fucking scared at the same time?_

*

The drive to the lottery office was terrible. Jim was sweating and worrying like crazy. When he walked into the office, they all smiled at him, not knowing that he was the one winner. He walked up to the first woman and asked, “Where do I go if I have a winning ticket?”

“Right here is good. Just give me the ticket and I’ll tell you if you’re a winner or not,” she said. 

Jim handed the ticket to her and she said, “Oh my. You mean for the big prize? Why didn’t you say that? Let me take you to my boss right now.” She handed the ticket back to Jim and walked him over to an office and she knocked on the door. 

The door was opened by a man wearing a tag that said he was Josh Sterling. “What do you need, Stephanie?”

“I have the winner, sir.”

“ **The** winner?” he asked incredulously. 

“The one and only, sir. I checked his ticket and he’s the winner,” Stephanie said and smiled at Jim. 

“My name is Josh Sterling, and who might you be?” The man held out his hand and shook hands with Jim. 

“My name is Jim Ellison. What do I do now?”

Josh turned to Stephanie and said, “I’ll take over from here. Come into my office, Jim. May I call you Jim?”

“Yes, that’s my name.”

“You’re so serious for someone who just found out that they became a millionaire. Did you know how much the ticket was worth?”

“No, Mr. Sterling, I just buy a ticket every week. I never even look to see how much it is worth. I guess I’ll find out soon enough, right?” Jim inquired. 

“Jim, the ticket, if you take it full term, value is worth 28 million dollars. That’s a once a month payment for the rest of your life. It can’t go to anyone else if you die. It’s only for you. Did you want to think about the other route you could take?”

“I guess so. I have a dangerous job, so I probably wouldn’t collect on it my entire life,” Jim answered. 

“If you take half, it’s 14 million dollars. That would go into your account today. We can suggest a broker for you or we can also send you to a decent investment firm,” Sterling said. 

“My father and my brother are in investments. So I need no help there. They can lead me in the right direction. What do I do now?” 

“Jim, I need the ticket and your driver’s license. Would this picture be the one you want in the paper tomorrow morning?” he asked. 

“I don’t want my picture in the paper at all. Ever. Can’t we do this without everyone knowing?” Jim wondered. 

Josh looked pained for a moment and then said, “Of course. You want to remain anonymous. I understand that. I’m a little disappointed because it’s a big thing for this office and we would have a big party and everything. But if that’s the way you want it, we have to do what you want.”

“Thing is, I’m a cop. Safer for me to stay anonymous.”

“Ah. I really do understand.”

Jim gave him the ticket and his license. Josh gave him a receipt with the numbers on it and its worth. “Have you made up your mind for sure about the amount you’ll take?”

“Yes, Mr. Sterling, I’ll take the 14 million and here is my account number at my bank. You can have it transferred there right now if that would be all right?”

Sterling took the number and started typing fast and furiously into the computer and before long he was printing up everything Jim would need to prove he had 14 million dollars in his account as of that moment. Sterling grabbed the paper, made four copies, two for Jim and two for his office records. “Is there anything we can help you with, Jim?”

“Please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want anyone to know just yet.” Jim looked as serious as a heart attack and Sterling knew he meant it. “Just please remember, don’t give anyone my name.”

“Your secret is safe with us. Don’t worry about a thing.” Sterling got a manila envelope and put all the printed things inside, closed it and handed it to Jim. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, Jim.”

“Thank you for being so kind and trusting. That makes me feel 100% better about the entire thing already. Have a good day, Mr. Sterling.”

“If I were you, I would stop at the bank and spread my money into different accounts so that you couldn’t lose it by a fluke or something. Put some in stocks, some in CDs and some in savings. Just some friendly advice.”

“Thank you. I planned on going to the bank first thing. You’ve been most helpful,” Jim said as he shook the man’s hand and left the office. He waved at all the girls in the main waiting room and smiled as he walked out the door.

*

Jim sat in his truck and didn’t move. He just looked out the windshield and smiled. He was past worried about what he would tell Blair. He figured one of the first things he would do was pay off the debt Blair still owed at the university. Now, Blair wouldn’t have that hanging over his head every single month. Jim knew that Blair worried about it a lot. Jim was going to buy Blair a new car. No, he was going to buy him a new SUV. Jim was going to get a new SUV also. Jim had all sorts of plans, but his main plan for that day was to go to the bank, spread the money around and open up an account for Blair. Something that would be just his. Jim smiled as he started up his truck. It stalled, making Jim cringe. Sweetheart had been a good truck for many years, but it was time for something new. Jim got out of the truck and flagged down a cab.

*

Sitting in the dealership for GMC was quite exciting. He had picked out two vehicles, both GMC Yukons-his was in teal green and Blair’s-maroon. They were both loaded inside and cost a pretty penny, but Jim didn’t mind spending that much knowing they probably wouldn’t have to buy another vehicle for years and years. They said they would hold Blair’s until he came to pick it up in the next week or two. Jim was clear that they knew no one was to drive it but Blair. Once that was done, Jim took off in his new vehicle and started to the bank. He smiled to himself thinking about the two men trying to help, falling over themselves when they found out that Jim was paying cash for both vehicles. Jim had talked the men into each taking one of the sales so that they could both have a good day.

As Jim drove, he remembered he had to take the SUV back to the dealer the next day to get the siren and flashing lights put into the dashboard. Jim had already paid them to do it to Blair’s. So his would be done that day.

*

At the bank, the manager took him into his office and Jim was there for about four hours. It was boring. Something he had to do, but it didn’t make it any less boring. Jim did everything he needed to do and left happy. He was done for the day. Now he just had to figure out a way to tell Blair about all this.

*

Blair was now a paid consultant for Cascade Police Department. He worked in Major Crimes and Homicide. He was on call to both teams. Blair loved it. He now got paid for doing the roller coaster work he loved and had insurance. Blair had told Jim it was the first time he had ever received insurance at a job. He was a happy camper. During his lunch break he had called Jim numerous times to ask him something but Jim never answered. Deep down, Blair was a little bit worried, but realized that Jim had a life outside of the PD and their friendship.

His phone rang and he answered, “Sandburg.”

“Yes, Mr. Sandburg, this is Cascade Trust Bank and we’d like to welcome you to our little family. When can you come in to sign the paperwork for your account?”

“Back up…What are you talking about?”

“James Ellison opened up four separate accounts for you today and said you would have to stop by and sign the paperwork. We’re just trying to speed up the process.”

“What are the accounts for?” Blair asked. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Sandburg, but you’ll need to come into our office and sign the papers and we can explain everything. When can we expect you?” the voice asked. 

“Who are you?”

“I’m the bank manager, Jeff Davis. Now, could you make it into our office in the next two hours?”

“Mr. Davis, I’ll be there as soon as I can get there. I have to see what this is all about,” Blair answered. _What has Jim fucking done for me this time?_

“See you soon, Mr. Sandburg. Drive carefully.”

Blair hung up the phone, got up and walked to Simon’s office door and rapped twice on the glass. 

“Come in, Sandburg. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know sir, and I need some time to find out what that damned Jim is up to.”

“I just got the strangest call asking if you worked here and if you would have the need or call to have flashing lights or siren built into your new Yukon. When did you get that?”

Blair shook his head in disbelief and said, “I didn’t buy one, that’s just it. Jim has been out buying things today. A bank just asked me to come sign papers for some accounts that I need to take care of as soon as possible.”

“What in the hell is he up to?” Simon stuck the unlit cigar in his mouth and chewed like crazy. 

Blair cringed. It made him almost sick when Simon did that. But Blair felt like chewing something too. “I have no idea, Simon. Could I take off today and see what he’s been doing on his day off.”

“Go…Let me know if it’s something bad.”

“What the fuck do you mean by that, Simon?”

“Nothing, I’m just worried that he’s about to do something nuts.”

“I gotta go. See you later tonight or tomorrow morning. Either way I’ll try and let you know what’s going on.”

“Thanks, Kid. Get out of here. Drive safe.”

Blair got up and smiled. “Thank you, Simon. Talk to you later.” Blair walked out and grabbed his jacket before getting on the elevator. He went downstairs to drive home but his car wouldn’t start. _Oh, this is fucking perfect._ Blair called a cab and waited out front for it to pick him up.

*

While Jim was happily talking to his dad on the phone about stocks and bonds, he had no idea that Blair was running from the bank to the car dealership. Of course Jim had to tell his dad why he was interested in the investment business suddenly and his dad couldn’t have been happier. Once Jim had a few things set up, he relaxed for a few minutes to see if he could sleep. He felt like he needed a nap. Spending money was hard work. Then he just had to tell Blair the news that night. Jim went upstairs and lay on his bed, without covering up, knowing he would be up in about twenty minutes anyhow. Jim smiled and realized he was content. But then he thought of something else. He and Blair needed a house. He called his dad back and asked him if he knew a real estate agent. William gave him four names, with their numbers and said they were all good.

Jim dialed the first number and got a busy signal, so he went on to the next number. Her name was Charlie Keys. And she answered the call right away. 

“Hi, my dad is William Ellison and he gave me your number. I wondered if you would like to show me some places in the next week or so. My name is Jim Ellison.”

“Hello, Jim. I know your dad very well. He steers clients my way all the time. I must thank him for this. What are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for a four bedroom house with an office, two bathrooms and preferably on one floor. Do you know the neighborhood that my dad lives in?”

“Yes, in fact, there are quite a few houses available in that neighborhood, but they can get quite pricey. What were you looking to spend?”

“You know what, Charlie? How about you show me some houses and I can tell you if they work financially or not? I’m paying cash, so there will be no financing. Would that work for you?” 

“Jim, I’m going to line up some houses for you to see this weekend in the $300,000.00 range or higher. What do you think of that?

“Works for me. Set the times up and give me a call on Saturday. I’ll see if I can get off both days this weekend. It doesn’t happen a lot, but it’s not unheard of,” Jim joked. 

Charlie knew she didn’t want to lose this client. “Okay, I’ll give you a call on Saturday morning. And I will set up the appointment times to view the houses for Saturday afternoon, evening and Sunday all day long.”

“Thank you, Charlie. My dad was right about you. I’m looking forward to working with you. Thank you for your time,” Jim said as he got ready to hang up. 

“Goodbye, Jim. Thank you for letting me be your realtor. You’ll be happy you chose me.”

Jim laughed as he hung up. He knew he had her from ‘I’m paying cash’ on.

*

Jim decided he was going to take Blair out for dinner that night. Blair was due home in the next couple of hours and Jim wanted to share his big news with him. For some reason, Jim found himself very nervous. First of all, Blair might not like the idea that Jim had secrets from him from day one. Secondly, Jim might even get up the nerve to ask him out on a proper date. Not just one for dinner after a hard day’s work where Jim needed to tell him things. No, he wanted a date where he and Blair were the main focus. Not money, not anything but them.

*

Blair stopped at the bank and found out that Jim opened up four accounts for him. One for Naomi, one for Blair’s outstanding college tuitions and such, one for travel and one for just anything at all. Three of them had ten thousand dollars in the opening account and the one for the college loans was huge. Blair was in shock as he signed all of the papers that were needed. _What the fuck is Jim up to? And where did he get this money?_ Blair was very confused as he left the bank, a rather wealthy young man, and took a cab over to the GMC dealer.

When he arrived he told them that someone had called and asked about sirens and flashers put into the dashboard and John Carpenter said, “You must be Blair Sandburg.”

“I am, but how do you know this?” 

“Your friend Jim Ellison was in this morning and bought two GMC Yukons. He told us we needed to do that right away to your SUV and he would be back this weekend to drop his off to have it equipped with the same thing. Your Yukon is right over here in the parking lot. We just finished it. Would you like to see your new car?”

“Yes, I would love to see my new car. How did Jim pay for this?” Blair asked. 

John smiled and said, “With cash of course.”

Blair was getting a bad feeling about all of this. _Where would Jim get this kind of money?_

The two men walked out the door and there was a gorgeous maroon Yukon parked and waiting. Blair looked at the salesman like he was insane and asked, “This is my car?”

John laughed. “This is indeed your SUV. It’s fully loaded with anything and everything you could ever use. Here are your keys. We can sit in it and I’ll show you how everything works.”

“Did you say Jim bought one just like this?”

“Yes, just like it, but his is teal. It’s a very nice color for him, but I think he was right about the maroon for you. He said you were dark and mysterious sometimes and it would fit you.”

Blair blushed and wondered what happened to Jim that morning that made him lose his fucking mind. 

“You’d better show me how to work everything so I can drive it home.” Blair opened his side and got in. Blair had thought it was gorgeous on the outside, and discovered that the inside was even more beautiful. It had black leather seats that even had coolers and heaters build into the seat cushion. Blair was very impressed with Jim’s taste in vehicles, but at the same time didn’t want to get too attached for when someone came back to collect it once the jig was up. Surely, this was all a big mistake.

John showed Blair for the next hour how to work everything, the radio, cd player and everything else that Blair needed to learn. 

Once they were done, John waved as Blair drove out of the parking lot. Blair kept humming the music from The Twilight Zone as he was driving. He was very careful driving home because he didn’t want to scratch up something the bank would probably take back. Although, John had said that Jim had paid cash. _What the hell?_

*

It was a beautiful evening and Jim was sitting on the balcony soaking up some of the last rays of the day when he saw Blair driving in to the lot, in his new SUV. _Shit, shit, shit…This isn’t working out at all like it was supposed to._

Jim got up and went into the living room and tried to come up with something as quick as he could. A lie, an obfuscation, anything would be better than what Jim had planned. 

Blair walked into the loft and just stared at Jim. He could tell immediately that Jim was nervous. _Why is Jim nervous?_

“Jim, would you like to explain to me what’s going on?”

Jim smiled and said, “I can explain everything over dinner. I made reservations at Saccony’s for us. I hope you don’t have plans. I know that you’re dating Chelsey and are getting rather serious, but I wanted to have one night to explain.”

“You’re getting off the subject. I’m not dating Chelsey. She’s just a good friend going through a tough time.”

“Really? And here I thought it was serious,” Jim said sounding very relieved. 

“Do you promise you can explain why all my college loans will be paid off, why I have a ton of money in other accounts and why I have a new SUV, all while we’re eating dinner?” Blair asked. 

“I promise you, when we are done eating dinner, there will be no questions left,” Jim said as casually as he could. 

“Are we dressing up for this dinner? Is it just for talking, or is this a date?” Blair asked hopefully. 

“Both, Blair. And yes, we’re dressing for dinner. That nice gray suit I got you for Christmas would look excellent tonight.” Jim felt like he had a chance at dating Blair. This was a something new and Jim was thrilled about it.

“Then I guess I better jump in the shower and get ready. I’ll try not to take too long,” Blair assured Jim. 

“I’m going to be upstairs getting dressed. I already took my shower,” Jim said. 

“See you soon, man.” Blair took off for his room, picking out his suit, tie and underwear for the evening. Blair hoped his shoes were good enough for the suit. _Well, they will have to be._

*

The two men drove to the restaurant in Jim’s new SUV.

Blair decided to break the ice. “I like your SUV, it’s a great color for you.”

Jim looked over at Blair and smiled. He wanted to pull over and kiss him, but he didn’t want to scare Blair off. “I chose your color for you because it ‘just called your name’.”

“Oh Lord, a talking SUV?” Blair burst out laughing and so did Jim. 

“I’m glad you are able to see humor in all this, Blair.”

“Wow, Blair? Not Chief, not Sandburg? This must be more serious than I think.”

Jim parked at Saccony’s and they walked in. The owner knew Jim and greeted him as he escorted Jim and Blair to a very private booth. 

As they sat down, Blair said, “Wow, this is really nice, man. This news is looking scarier and scarier.”

“I wanted to take you somewhere nice, where you wouldn’t be tempted to yell at me or escape. Now let me ask you something? How do you feel about me?” Jim asked nervously. 

“Are you asking me if I dig you, Jim? If that’s the question, yes I do. I adore you. I’m surprised you didn’t know it already. I was worried that you would find out and make me move,” Blair replied, smiling. 

Jim looked so relieved and so unsure of himself for the next part of the evening. But he didn’t have to worry about it just yet because the waiter came to bring menus and take drink orders.

The waiter, named Tom, gave them each a menu and asked, “What can I get you to drink?”

Jim answered first, “I would like a tall glass of iced tea and my friend here would like your best glass of wine.”

“Why aren’t you going to join me?” Blair asked. 

“Because I’m driving. Thank you Tom, we’ll be ready to order by the time you bring our drinks.” Jim started looking at the menu. “Chief, did you see they have lasagna made with shrimp and lobster?”

“I did. I was thinking of trying that. You get something different so we can eat off each other’s plates. Okay?” Blair found himself having a good time even though he knew something was coming up. 

When Tom brought their drinks back, Jim ordered stuffed ravioli and Blair ordered the seafood lasagna. Both were in white sauce. Tom took their menus and walked away smiling.

“Okay, we have a few minutes before dinner, Jim. Tell me what’s going on.”

“I feel so guilty, but I think in the long run you’re going to be happy for me.”

“So spill. I’m dying to know what’s going on.” Blair was practically bouncing in his seat. 

Jim leaned in and whispered, “I won the lottery today.”

Blair looked to see if Jim was joking and could tell he was dead serious. Still whispering, Blair said, “That is awesome, man. Why would you feel guilty about that?”

Jim looked so relieved. “I’ve been buying a ticket every Wednesday night for the last four years. And I know how you feel about the lottery.”

Blair burst out laughing. “You’re worried about that? Man, this is the best news I’ve heard in years. Oh wait, I just realized I’m going to have a rich boyfriend. Hot damn.”

Jim looked confused. “So you aren’t mad for me keeping that a secret all these years?”

“Jim, everyone has secrets. And yours is an actual good one if you ask me. I was afraid of something horrible going on and you took money out of your savings for all this.”

Jim threw back his head and laughed quietly. “I didn’t mean to worry you, Blair. I’m sorry. I should have called you first thing in the morning.”

“Yes, you should have. I even told Simon how worried I was. He made me promise I would call and tell him what’s going on. What do you want to do about that?” Blair wondered. 

Jim ran his hand through his thinning hair and smiled. “We’ll call him when we get home.”

Tom brought more wine and their dinner at that moment. Jim couldn’t believe how lucky he was. This was turning out really well.

Once Tom left, Blair asked, “Do you have any other earth shattering news you want to share with me?”

“Well, there is a woman that is calling on Saturday named Charlie Keys. She’s a real estate agent and she’s going to show us some four bedroom houses with an office, all weekend. I figured it would be the next step. Moving I mean. Is that all right with you?”

“Do I have to wait until we move to share a room with you?” Blair asked, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. 

Jim laughed and never wanted to kiss anyone so badly in his life. 

“So kiss me if you really want to-and I know you do,” Blair ordered. 

Jim leaned across the table, moving his food aside so he wouldn’t be wearing it. Blair did the same thing. Jim kissed him and it was as wonderful as Jim had expected it to be. Blair finally pulled away and said, “Let’s eat so we can leave.”

Jim laughed again. Blair was making this night so easy on him. “By the way, Blair, I’m in love with you.”

Blair beamed with happiness. “I’m so glad because I would hate to be the only one in love.”

The two men started eating and talking about the future and how exciting it was going to be. Things were working out just fine. They both seemed to be on the same page about Blair moving upstairs that evening, so life was good. 

They realized they could do anything now. Love does that. 

The end


End file.
